Enchanted Rocks 11/11

The day after Thanksgiving, Jude and I took off for a camp adventure to the Enchanted Rocks for the weekend.  This was another adventure I set up in meetup.com but one of the family that was going to join us backed out the very last minute. To say the very least, this place was AMAZING!!!! The pictures will speak for itself. For those of you who don't know about enchanted rocks it's a huge dome of a rock that visitors will hike up to the top for an amazing view of the area. Around this rock dome are great hiking and trails. We went on the canyon trail for our hike and it was truly a beautiful experience. Pictures were not able to truly capture the beauty of this place.

This is our campsite which includes a fire ring/ grill. Also optional to the campsite is a covered picnic table like the one pictured here or an uncovered picnic table.  There is running water at the camp area but they are not set up at each individual camp site.  There is not much shade where the tents are pitched so I can imagine that it can get pretty hot in the summer time and a covered picnic table would be a necessity. 

Although there is space between each camper there isn't too much privacy so if you are looking to camp in seclusion and privacy this isn't it. There are primitive camping that is about 1-2 miles of hiking for those who desire more privacy.  I should mention that there is just one shower area for the whole camp area (there are about 50 campsite that are car pull-up with water). The one showers and bathrooms for the camp area was close for reconstruction so I'm not able to comment on the cleanliness of the facilities. One shower area for the whole camp area seems very limited.  I'm not very impress with the camping area and facilities but this will not prevent us from going again for a camp-out.

Located right in front of the rock.

I Truly wish the picture can really capture the 3-dimensional  and true beauty of the place.  We are so glad we went.

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This is Jude and I at the very top. We felt like we can literally slide down the rock. This picture really does not do this huge rock justice. It's very hard to tell how high we are. This place was AMAZING and the climb to the top can take about 30 minutes at a slow pace with minimal rest.

Jude taking a break from our hike up the rock. The rock just feels so cool to lay on. 

At the very top of the rock, it gets very windy. LOL looks like it's about to blow Jude away. 

After climbing to the top and making it to the other side of Enchanted rock, there is a cave area that is fun to climb into and over and around. It was a rock cave. Jude LOVED this. OK so did I. :)

These are other rock formations around Enchanted rock for exploring. This was the Echo canyon trail that we decided to explore. WE LOVED IT!!!  Wish we only had more time to explore all the trails this place has to offer. :(... 

This was such an awesome site. These were huge rocks place on a single huge hill of a rock. I took this picture from the bottom of the hill. This looks soooo much more amazing in person.

I love the color of fall. 

This was truly one huge rock!! REally a cool site.

This is a smaller dome rock close to Enchanted rock where Jude and I decided to hike around.

Jude got so close to this deer. 

These next few photos were taken when the sun was setting. 

Us playing checkers at our campsite.. Jude won this game.. Love the kid!!!

WE LOVE LOVE LOVE this place and we will definitely return!!! I highly recommend this trip. Jude said it was our best camp adventure yet. I will have to agree with him. We just had so much fun exploring the beauty of the place. 

Galveston Island State Park 11/12/11

A day at Galveston Island State park.  This is the first scheduled meetup.com that I've set up for the Houston Traveling Family. Joining us on this trip is Sue and her sons Brandon and Dillon.  Sue is a single mother of two boys (a teenager and an 8 years old). Along with being a single mother, Sue works full time in the environmental field and goes to school full-time. How she can juggle all this is a wonder to me, but she seems to be doing a great job. I admire her instantly for her strength, independence and bravery.  Her bravery comes into play because she follows her heart. Not many people can say they do this, and because of this, she found herself and her passion.

                                                           Sue and her teenage son Brandon.

We are both two very busy individuals but manage to gather the kiddos and the camping gear for a trip to Galveston Island State park for a saturday night of bayside camping. We didn't get to the site until 6 p.m. so we rushed to set up tent. Galveston Island State park is separated into two parts; a bayside and then the beach side. Camp spots along the beach side has electronic and  water hook-up, and a covered picnic table. The great thing about getting a spot in this area is being close to the beach and hearing the wave crashing through the night. Unfortunately the beach side was full and booked well in advanced. We camped out in the Bayside of the island which is separated by a main road. The bayside offers two  areas for camping. The area we were in provided water and a a covered picnic table and is set up for tent camping although RV camping is allowed. There is another area in the Bayside as well that has both water and electronic hook-up. The Bayside provides toilets only (no showers).  The camp area doesn't allow very much privacy with camp sites in a grassy open space. There are also no trees for shades so camping here in the summer time won't be ideal since it can get sunny and hot so I  recommend camping during the fall or winter. The facilities are clean, which is a bonus.  This state park doesn't provide too many camping spots so early reservations is crucial. Ever since Hurricane Ike, which damage the state park, there hasn't been too many sites available.

                                                            The Bayside campsite

Also available at this State park is fishing without having to get a fishing license. At the end of the Bayside is an open water area where fishing takes place.

                                                             Jude's Fishing Adventure

                                                            He didn't catch anything :(

                                                          Yay!!! Brandon caught a fish..

                                          Jude playing with Dillon at the Bayside of the park.

The boys spends the night playing board games

The beach side of the state park. The coast-line seem to go on forever.